Bellport board members said the issue largely revolved around lifeguards watching their family members.

Village officials reiterated at Saturday's board meeting that the lifeguards will not be welcomed back, even after they offered to rescind the resignations last week.

"I think we're moving forward this year; I don't know about next year," Mayor Ray Fell said at the meeting, adding Brookhaven -- which supplied one supervisor and three lifeguards -- preferred to use its own lifeguards instead of working with those who had quit.

During summer weekdays, up to 30 people visit the beach. But that number swells to roughly 250 on weekends, village officials said.

Several of the Ho-Hum lifeguards who quit attended the meeting.

Matthew Horsley, 33, who has helped protect swimmers at the beach for 16 years, admitted to simultaneously watching his daughter and beachgoers. "It had been a past practice; I had no issue with it," he said.

But he said the resignations had more to do with working conditions and being forced to use old equipment. "We've been voicing our opinions for a while," he said.

"Safety has always been our number one priority," said Rona McKechnie, co-chair of the village's waterfront commission. "The resignations were en masse, and the trustees acted in a responsible manner."